Amanda Slikkers story begins on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the US Naval Academy. Two months into her navy career, she was enjoying the first and, as it turns out, only rugby game she would ever play. During one of the plays, the head of one of the players slammed into her chin, throwing her jaw out of place and putting her in excruciating pain. This injury would change her life forever. Amanda became a Christian as a child and was outspoken about her faith while at school. Even so, her beliefs were never challenged until she faced agonizing pain. She had countless surgeries, each one weakening her health a bit more. As time went on, she wondered why God was making her go through this unbelievable pain. She had been a healthy child growing up and did not know how to deal with this kind of suffering. She found herself questioning the truths she had learned from the Bible. My Comfort in Affliction is a profoundly personal journey through Amandas struggles with her faith. She shares her prayers, thoughts, and the Scripture that gave her peace and hope during her unexpected tribulations. God led Amanda through her physical pain and with His hand pulled her to the mountains filled with joy and peace. Her story is a testament to Gods faithfulness and everlasting love.

The work unto which the servant of Christ is called is many sided. Not only is he to preach the Gospel to the unsaved, to feed God's people with knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:15), and to take up the stumbling stone out of their way (Isa. 57:14), but he is also charged to "cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression" (Isa. 58:1 and cf. 1 Tim. 4:2). While another important part of his commission is stated in, "Comfort ye, My people, said your God" (Isa. 40:1). What an honorable title, "My people!" What an assuring relationship: "your God!" What a pleasant task: "comfort ye My people!" A threefold reason may be suggested for the duplicating of the charge. First, because sometimes the souls of believers refuse to be comforted (Psa. 77:2), and the consolation needs to be repeated. Second, to press this duty the more emphatically upon the preacher's heart, that he need not be sparing in administering cheer. Third, to assure us how heartily desirous God himself is that His people should be of good cheer (Phil. 4:4). God has a "people," the objects of His special favor: a company whom He has taken into such intimate relationship unto Himself that He calls them "My people." Often they are disconsolate: because of their natural corruption's, the temptations of Satan, the cruel treatment of the world, the low state of Christ's cause upon earth. The "God of all comfort" (2 Cor. 1:3) is very tender of them, and it is His revealed will that His servants should bind up the brokenhearted and pour the balm of Gilead into their wounds. What cause have we to exclaim "Who is a God like unto Thee!" (Micah 7:18), who has provided for the comfort of those who were rebels against His government and transgressors of His Law. The contents of this little volume have appeared from time to time in our monthly magazine during the last thirty years. They were, previously, sermons which we preached long ago in the U.S.A. and Australia. Here and there is an expression (especially where Prophecy is touched upon) that we would not use today; but since the Lord was pleased to bless them in their original form to not a few of His distressed people, we have not revised them. May it please Him to speak peace by them to afflicted souls today, and the glory shall be His alone. Pink (1890-1953) was a Baptist Preacher in England, Australia, and the United States. He is most famous for his book The Sovereignty of God. After its advent, he, assisted by his editor Mr. I. Herendeen, launched his yearly publication, Studies in the Scriptures in 1921. These continued until his death, totaling altogether 33 volumes of 288 pp. each. Most of Pink's books are taken from these yearly volumes (written monthly in 24 page format).

The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy. Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, and they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an MBA from Stanford where she met and married a classmate. But life unraveled. Again. She had four miscarriages. Her son died because of a doctor's mistake. And Vaneetha was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, meaning she would likely become a quadriplegic. And then her husband betrayed her and moved out, leaving her to raise two adolescent daughters alone. This was not the abundant life she thought God had promised her. But, as Vaneetha discovered, everything she experienced was designed to draw her closer to Christ as she discovered "that intimacy with God in suffering can be breathtakingly beautiful."

An invitation for overachievers to discover what it means to rest as God's daughters without compromising their God-given design as doers. Are you a Martha who feels guilty for not being a Mary? Do you want to sit at Jesus’s feet as Mary did—but you feel the need to get things done? In Made Like Martha, Katie M. Reid invites you to exchange try-hard striving for hope-filled freedom without abandoning your doer’s heart in the process. Through her own story and rich biblical illustrations, Katie reminds you that it’s not important whether you sit and listen or stand and work. What matters is that your spiritual posture is one of a beloved daughter who knows she doesn’t need to earn God’s love. Your desire to get things done is not something to temper but something to embrace as you serve from a place of strength and peace—knowing Christ already did His most important work for you on the cross. With “It Is Finished” activities at the end of each chapter and a fiveweek Bible study included, Made Like Martha helps you find rest from striving even as you celebrate your God-given design to “do.” “Made Like Martha will infuse your life with a fresh perspective as you learn both to embrace your God-given personality and also discover how—and when—to rest and retreat.” —Karen Ehman, Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker and New York Times bestselling author of Keep It Shut